Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III of Plymouth will soon face a military judge again in connection with the April 2006 killing of a civilian in Iraq. But this time he is represented by a former military prosecutor turned private defense attorney, who is taking an aggressive stand on getting all charges against Hutchins dismissed once and for all.

PLYMOUTH – Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III will soon, once again, face a military judge in connection with the killing of an Iraqi civilian more than eight years ago.

But this time Hutchins is represented by a former military prosecutor turned private defense attorney, who is taking an aggressive stand on getting all charges against the Marine from Manomet dismissed once and for all.

Less than two months into the case, Washington, D.C., attorney Christopher Oprison has already challenged the military justice hierarchy he says is stacked against Hutchins, demanding the government release information about a military police raid on the law offices of one of Hutchins’ prior lawyers.

Oprison is also seeking information about how comments made by the secretary of the Navy may have tainted the case against Hutchins and denied him the chance of getting a fair trial or clemency.

Hutchins is slated to face a military court martial early next year in connection with the April 2006 killing of a civilian in Hamdania, Iraq.

He had already served seven years of an 11-year sentence for his conviction on a charge of unpremeditated murder when the case was overturned on appeal. An appellate court threw out the conviction after determining a statement taken from Hutchins when he was detained after the shooting was coerced.

The government has opted to prosecute Hutchins again.

Oprison, who served as a Marine Corps prosecutor as well as a former associate White House counsel for former President George H. W. Bush, took on Hutchins’ defense on a pro bono basis for Washington-based Akerman LLP.

In an interview Monday, Oprison said he plans to file a motion for a military court equivalent of a probable-cause hearing, which he hopes may secure a dismissal of the charges against Hutchins, given the ruling against the use of his statement.

An appellate court determined the statement was coerced and inadmissible because it was taken after Hutchins was held in solitary confinement for more than a week.

Oprison has also filed motions seeking information about a military police raid on the offices of one of Hutchins’ former military defense attorneys. The raid was conducted in connection with an unrelated case, but Oprison said he wants to see any and all information related to Hutchins and his former lawyer.

Oprison is also taking an aggressive stand on how inflammatory statements made about the Hutchins case by the secretary of the Navy could have tainted the judicial process.

Oprison, who served as a captain in the Marine Corps from 1998 to 2002, said he felt Hutchins needed help fighting a military justice system that favors the military. His firm took on the case less than two months ago and has been working feverishly to catch up on the proceedings. That includes more than 35,000 pages of case documents, but Oprison said he believes there is much more information the government has yet to share.

“Here’s a Marine who’s gone and fought, done what he needed to do. He has had a rough last eight years, and he needs a break, and someone to come out and help him,” Oprison said.

As an attorney in private practice, he said, he has more flexibility and leeway to ask the hard questions of senior officers.

U.S. Navy Capt. Drew Henderson has been assigned to serve as judge for Hutchins’ court-martial trial. Henderson has yet to rule on the defense motions.

Oprison said the trial was originally slated to start in late October but has already been pushed back to January.

Hutchins, meanwhile, continues to serve as a Marine sergeant at Camp Pendleton in California.

Oprison said pressure from the military command forced Hutchins from his job as a firearms instructor. He is now working in logistics but hopes to return to a training role soon.

“He is free and presumed innocent, and he is being the stellar Marine he always has been and always will be. He will continue to be the alpha Marine he is. That’s just the way he’s wired,” Oprison said. “He still shows up with a smile on his face and does a bang-up job.”

Reach Rich Harbert at rharbert@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @richharbertOCM.